What is the biggest obstacle schools face with investing in or implementing technology?

The biggest problem I see with technology in schools is the ability to pull the trigger on it and let it flourish. I'm sure there are many reasons for this from financial, political, or even organizational. Personally, I think it is the "exponential growth. The smartphone in your pocket provides a better communication tool than the President of the United States had access to just 25 years ago, and provides access to more data than he had access to just 10 years ago" (Barton, 2013).

This growth is summed up in Moore's Law where the Intel co-founder claimed the processing power of computers would double every two years (Barton, 2013). He was right, sort of. It is possibly happening faster than that. The rate of change in the technological field means that what a school will buy for education will be outdated within a year or two. I firmly believe, especially with all the scientific discovery happening every week, that most subjects in school should be reexamined regularly, but technology has the potential to change the paradigm. We are too hooked on books that we try and teach out of for a decade when the information contained within it might be outdated. We need a complete change in the fundamental way we view educational "materials". This is where I believe pulling the trigger on technology will revolutionize education. It's not technology that needs education, it's education that needs technology to change the paradigm and get us past the factory school idea. Instead of books, we can use computers (maybe not a one-to-one ratio for students, but enough that each student has regular access in school). Perhaps, as I am attempting at my school, we can teach off the screen instead of out of the book. This means we (teachers) can adapt to changing information within the school year and between the school year because we aren't tied down to a book's information. This means that the technology can be updated with less cost than a one-to-one program because we can rotate. The youngest children can get access to the oldest computers to learn the basics and as they get older they get the newer and newer materials. And/or the teachers computers running the classroom materials could be regularly updated since they are the smallest number.

I admit this doesn't solve the problem with the digital divide, but perhaps it can help change things enough that new ideas can flourish and solve that problem. Maybe connecting rural villages in other parts of the world with urban centers via the internet can mean that those children can be 'in class' with the other students using live-feed technology. Classrooms and materials can change, but the goal remains the same. If the goal is being hindered by the classroom or the material, why not change the material or classroom to reach that goal?

What is the digital divide?

There are people out there attempting to solve this problem. Click below for another example of a group trying to solve the digital divide.

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see." (Martin Luther King jr.)

Woman on the Bus

A woman looks at her phone on a bus in downtown Seoul, 2015

Seoul Protest 2015

People from around 120 unions and groups organized the protests on Saturday, December 5th, that saw thousands marching through downtown Seoul. Many people carried signs that said roughly "listen to the people" as they feel the current government is not working for the people but for the Chaebol (large corporations).

Mask Dance

Thousands took to the streets to protest several government plans in Seoul on Saturday, December 5th. They were told not to wear masks because of the "threat of ISIS". The protesters responded by wearing thousands of masks, some dancing traditional samulnori along the way.

Shoulder View

Getting a better view of the traditional Korean dancing at the Bupyeong Festival, this girl sits on dad's shoulders.

Angled Emotion

A man picks up recycling in the city while a little girl pouts in the doorway behind him.

Framing the Street

Tucked into an alley in northern Seoul, graffiti hides as people walk past.

The Clown

A performer prepares to entertain children on Children's Day at Children's Grand Park in Seoul.

Yellow Dust Love

A couple gets intimate during yellow dust season in Myeongdong. "Yellow Dust" is the polluted air that drifts from the Gobi Desert, picking up coal pollution over the cities of China, to Korea.

Rock Reflection

Cape Disappointment, Washington

Launch Pad to the Universe

The Milky Way jetting up from the peaks at Colonial in the North Cascades, Washington

Watercolor Sky

The colors of sunset above Eastern Jeju Island, South Korea

The Race

Two shooting stars race across the night sky at Liberty Bell Peak, Washington

Mt. St. Helens

From Johnston Ridge

The Girl with the Mask

"Park Geun Hye resign" is written across her mask. She speaks loudly without noise in the crowd f nearly a million protesting the president of South Korea on 11/12

Monk in the Front

A million people took to the streets on 11/12 to protest the president in one of the largest protests in Korean history. Many religious leaders joined together to hold signs that read "Park Geun Hye resign"

Man with Candle

One of a million protesting the president of South Korea on 11/12, holding a candle for the vigil and marching to show his support of the president stepping down.

Helping Hands

These girls help this man light his candle as night falls over approximately a million people in the streets of downtown Seoul on 11/12.

Anti-Government DJ Spinning

A DJ spins music for the crowd of protesters on 11/12 as they march against the president of Korea.

A Family Marches

A family marches with candles during the protest on 11/12 that saw a million people spill into the streets of downtown Seoul.

Flying

Flying on the shoulders of her father, this girl had a VIP view of the million person protest against the president on 11/12

Spectacle

Overlooking the crowd in the square, a man surveys the scene. Lights, musicians, food stalls, and a million people peacefully protesting the president and chanting in waves, "Park Geun Hye resign".

Tiring Protest

A little girl yawns on her father's shoulders late into the night as they continue to march against the president.